Kakamega: The Government is targeting to increase the number of international tourists visiting the country from 2.4 million recorded in 2024 to 7.5 million by 2030. President William Ruto has already committed to ensuring Kenya attains at least 5 million international tourists' arrivals by 2027.
According to Kenya News Agency, a principal Tourism Officer from the State Department for Tourism, Mr. Ishmael Chelang'a, highlighted the ease of travel enabled through the Kenya Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) and the Kenya Open Sky Policy as key interventions to attract international tourists. Chelang'a shared these insights during a public participation forum for the Kenya National Tourism Strategy (NTS) 2025-2030, which aims to make Kenya a competitive and sustainable tourism destination worldwide.
In the 2024 statistics, Kenya is ranked sixth in Africa in tourism arrivals, with Morocco leading at 17.4 million visitors, followed by Egypt with 15.7 million visitors. Chelang'a emphasized that increasing tourist numbers will boost revenue from Sh 452 billion in 2024 to Sh 1.2 trillion by 2030. He stressed the importance of increasing tourism-related employment from over 1.5 million jobs to 2.5 million by 2030.
Chelang'a also explained the government's goal to extend the average stay of visitors from eight to 12 days by 2030, which would enhance economic contributions from longer stays. Additionally, the government aims to grow domestic trips from 5.17 million bed nights to at least 10 million by 2030.
The strategy also focuses on tapping into the Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Exhibitions (MICE) sector, a key tourism earner. Chelang'a called on counties to ensure they have conference centers to attract business travelers. The hospitality industry aims to increase internationally classified beds from 26,786 in 2018 to 125,000 by 2030.
Chelang'a stressed the importance of infrastructure enhancements, such as the Open Sky policy, which allows direct flights like Mombasa to Dubai, to improve accessibility to tourism destinations. He urged county governments to leverage urban tourism to attract visitors interested in urban experiences.
In 2024, the Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) unveiled nine tourism circuits to transform travel experiences. The government plans to establish flagship projects in these circuits, such as constructing a museum in Lodwar town to preserve Turkana culture.
To ensure tourist safety, Chelang'a mentioned strengthening the Tourism Police Unit, listing licensed tour operators on the National Tourism Service Portal, and establishing a Tourism Crisis Management Unit. The development of an innovation hub is also underway to gather data and address issues from every tourism destination.